THE DEITY OF CHRIST
Therefore the Jews sought the more to kill him, because he not only had broken the sabbath, but said also that God was his Father, making himself equal with God (John 5:18).
Until you discover who Jesus really is, you can’t walk with Him. Jesus is Adonai; He’s the Lord God! The very thought of this blows the mind. No wonder the Jews had difficulty accepting Him. They accused Him of making Himself equal with God because He said God was His Father.
They knew that when someone says, “God is my Father,” it doesn’t mean God gave birth to that person, because God is a Spirit. They understood what Jesus was saying: He Himself was Jehovah in human manifestation! In John 10:30, He made another staggering declaration that made them angrier. He said, “I and my Father are one.” In other words, “We’re one and the same; if you’ve seen Me, you’ve seen the Father.”
Now, the Jews got really crazy and they took up stones again to stone Him. But Jesus interrupted them and asked, “…Many good works have I shewed you from my Father; for which of those works do ye stone me?” They replied, “…For a good work we stone thee not; but for blasphemy; and because that thou, being a man, makest thyself God” (John 10:32-33).
Notice the two charges brought against Jesus. The first one was blasphemy for saying God was His Father. The second was robbery, because being a man, He made Himself God. He was therefore condemned with robbers. But the Bible says in Philippians 2:5-6, “Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus: Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God.”
This verse was a direct response to the Jewish charge against Jesus that He was a thief for declaring Himself to be equal with God. Jesus didn’t think He was robbing God by being equal with God, because He was in the form of God. The Greek word for “form” is “morphe,” which means “nature.” In other words, He was in the very nature or essence of God. Though He looked like a man, He was in the form of God. In essence, Jesus is God! This is one of the cleverest communications in the New Testament about the deity of Jesus Christ. His claim to deity is right.
PRAYER
Lord Jesus, you’re the great God of glory and the complete embodiment of Deity! Thank you for revealing your divine personality to me. I celebrate your Lordship and rulership over my life and over all of creation. You’re the Most High God, and you alone are worthy of all praise, worship and adoration. Amen.
FURTHER STUDY:
Titus 2:13 TPT, 1 Timothy 3:16, Colossians 1:15-19, Colossians 2:9
1-Year Bible Reading Plan: John 17:1-26 & 1 Chronicles 9-10
2-Year Bible Reading Plan: 1 Corinthians 15:11-19 & Proverbs 29
